Meeting the Demand: How One Department Increased Their WOC Nurse Workforce (EP.37)

On this episode of WOCTalk we sit down with Ekta Vohra, BSN, RN, CWON. As a certified wound and ostomy nurse for 6 years at a large urban, academic institution, Ekta’s patients span from neonates through the geriatric population. After experiencing an increase of 257% in ostomy patient visits and 138% in wound patient visits, Ekta and the team at her facility worked to research and measure the demand they were facing and understand the costs savings associated with adding additional full-time staff to meet this demand. Through their research, understanding of workload productivity, and dedication to showcase the value of WOC nurses, they developed a proposal for additional staff and eventually increased their team by four new members. Listen in to learn more about their processes, including the research for their proposal, the on-boarding of new staff and the on-going and future projects of the department.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode
The Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice, 2nd Edition provides an overview of the scope of WOC nursing practice, the standards of WOC nursing practice and professional performance that are based on the authoritative statements of the ANA (2015a) regarding the duties of all registered nurses. The standards define the responsibilities of the WOC nurse and guide professional practice and performance. Competencies are included for each standard, which provide evidence of compliance with that particular standard. To purchase, please click here.

The 2016 WOC Nursing Salary and Productivity Survey is a member benefit provided by the WOCN Society. The information contained in this report represents compensation and productivity data on the WOC nursing industry. The report is designed to allow a user to easily compare their compensation and productivity levels with their peers. If you are a member, this resource is available for free and can be found in the WOCN Document Library at wocn.org/library. If you are a non-member, this resource is available for purchase in the WOCN Society bookstore at wocn.org/bookstore.